Are Atheists Generally Smarter Than Religious People ?

Atheists think most religious people are not very bright because they sacrifice logic for faith. The religious think atheists are not very bright because they deny what seems to be obvious to them -- that there is a god.  Who is right? Are they both wrong?

I admit that I am prejudiced, being an atheist -- but I have met some very smart people (and some dumb people) in both camps. But the question is not one that judges individuals. It is about group generalities. A researcher at the University of Rochester believes the smarter people are the atheists. Without comment from me, here is the article in medicaldaily.com describing those findings. Make of it what you will.

A review of scientific studies finds that people who hold a more naturalistic view of the world are generally smarter than those who believe in god.

In an analysis of 63 studies conducted since 1928, a researcher at the University of Rochester found “a reliable negative relation between intelligence and religiosity” in 53 of the studies. While 10 of the studies showed a positive correlation, only two of them showed a significant link.

Thirty-five of the studies, however, showed a significantly negative correlation between intelligence and religiosity, according to researcher Miron Zuckerman.

"Most extant explanations [of a negative relation] share one central theme —the premise that religious beliefs are irrational, not anchored in science, not testable and, therefore, unappealing to intelligent people who 'know better,’” Zuckerman wrote in a paper published this month.

Zuckerman and two other psychologists reviewing the literature defined intelligence as the “ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly, and learn experience.” Religiosity is defined by psychologists as participation in some facets of worship, which might range from passive attendance at weekly services to the sort of messianic fervor depicted in Robert Duvall’s 1997 film The Apostle.

Other factors such as sex or education made no difference in the correlation between intelligence and religiosity, although some variance was seen with age. The association of lower intelligence with religiousness was weakest among teenagers in the “pre-college population,” however.

Yet, a lifelong association between higher intelligence and atheism, or naturalistic worldview, remains constant in a continuing study — begun in 1928 — of 1,500 gifted children with intelligence quotients (IQs) over 135. Even in extreme old age and closer to death (and some would say God), these children remained steady in their beliefs, or non-belief.

The higher intelligence of non-believers was attributed by researchers to a greater propensity to seek education and higher employment, when available, thus assuming more personal control over their direction in life. "Intelligent people typically spend more time in school — a form of self-regulation that may yield long-term benefits," Zuckerman wrote. "More intelligent people get higher level jobs and better employment may lead to higher self-esteem, and encourage personal control beliefs."